Birregurra bins the plastic bag

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Residents of Birregurra, an old milling town, now vying for it to become Victoria's first plastic-bag-free town.Photo: Joe Armao

Birregurra, the old milling town between Colac and Lorne, does not look especially revolutionary. But this weekend it will break new ground, becoming the first town in Victoria to go plastic bag-free.

The idea, conceived and driven by one of its 500 residents, artist Debra Chant, has the support of the town's 15 businesses.

They have all signed declarations that they will no longer distribute plastic bags.

Joe Habib, owner of the general store is the town's biggest user of plastic bags, giving out about 150 each week. He will now give customers paper bags or boxes, or alternatively, they can buy a calico bag with a print of the town's logo.

Mr Habib said the alternatives would cost about an extra 20 cents each - a cost he is willing to absorb. He hopes that customers will re-use their bags over time.

"I think people will get into the habit. It's just like anything. If you lose your right hand you've got to learn to eat with your left hand. You still have to eat," he said.

Ms Chant, a conservationist with "a small house, a small car" set upon her mission after hearing that the Government was giving out grants to help communities ban plastic bags.

She missed out on the grant, but embraced the concept, making it happen in less than six months, skipping ahead of other towns that have also pledged to go plastic bag-free.

Vanessa Barclay, Planet Ark's plastic bag campaign project manager, said Birregurra would be the first in the state to enact the ban if it stopped using plastic bags this weekend.

Anglesea, which in April was the first Victorian town to announce it would ban plastic bags, was still gathering commitments from businesses to stop using them, she said.

Metung intended to be plastic bag-free by November, Ms Barclay said.

In July, Environment Minister John Thwaites announced Cannons Creek, Tooradin, Olinda, Creswick, Cohuna, Murtoa, Timboon, Tallangatta, Queenscliff, the Elwood shopping strip and the South Melbourne and Dandenong markets would receive grants to help them ban plastic bags.

The first town in Australia to go plastic bag-free was Tasmania's Coles Bay in April 2002. Plastic bags can take between 15 and 1000 years to break down, and can cause the deaths of animals such as birds and whales, seals and turtles.